"Sweet mother, I no go forget you, For the suffer, wey you suffer for me eh" -Chorus: Sweet Mother, Prince Nico Mbarga & the Rocafil Jazz

By Rita Apaloo

Growing up, my home was one of millions in Africa and around the world that owned a copy of Prince Nico Mbarga and the Rocafil Jazz's album with the hit “Sweet Mother.” Recorded in 1976, 13 million copies of the album were sold and it was later recognized as one of Africa's greatest songs.

In addition to its uplifting rhythms, the wonderful thing about “Sweet Mother” is that it put into words sentiments of Africans that was hardly ever talked about. A mother's love and devotion toward her children were expected and “natural” (so why make such a fuss about it). In the same way, a child's love and appreciation for his or her mother was expected, considering the pain and suffering of childbearing and raising children. So through the song, we could finally honor our mothers and celebrate them in a culturally familiar way—through music and dance.